Basque Country, Spain26 September – 5 October, 2019

Exclusive for us during our stay.Our home away from home will be this luxury villa featuring everything we could wish for. A swimming pool where you can swim and relax. The well equipped kitchen will be put to good use by Frank as he demonstrates some of the secrets of Basque cooking.

Bilbao, Mercado de la Ribera and The GuggenheimOur journey starts in Bilbao with a visit to the Mercado de la Ribera, the local and famous produce market on an island on the river which is an absolute must. We will stroll through the “Seven Streets” in Bilbao’s Casco Viejo, the oldest part of the city. It was first laid out at the end of the 14th Century and its “Siete Calles” (Seven Streets) is a magic territory for browsing through interesting shops selling tinned fish and live snails, incense-wafting hippy stores, time-warped haberdasheries, cute boutiques and tempting bakeries.The glittering Guggenheim sparked Bilbao’s renaissance when it opened in October 1997. In the subsequent 20 years, Frank Gehry’s striking shimmer of steel draws visitors from all over the world.

Txacoli WineryThese are the wines imported by MoVida for Frank’s restaurants. The Txacoli wine is the white wine of the Basque country. Its acidic quality combines perfectly with white fish. The most famous denomination of origin of Txacoli is in Getaria.

The local port is beautiful and if we are lucky we will catch a few boats that have not gone out to sea that day. At the end of the port there are several important companies committed to high quality canned fish. This will make for an interesting stroll around the ports.

Lunch at ElkanoWe will have a relaxed lunch at one of Frank’s favourite restaurants – on the menu will be a Basque Grill. The meat, vegetables and particularly the fish, have a special flavour in these grills. Elkano is one of Frank’s favourite restaurants ever.

The Rioja Region and Extabarri Our journey will continue on to the Rioja wine region where we will visit one of the oldest wine bodegas in the region. On our tour we will also visit a traditional vegetable conserving artisan producer and enjoy a sumptuous lunch at a classic asador restaurant.

The following day will feature a special treat when we savour the fare at the Extabarri Restaurant – truly one of the world’s great restaurant experiences.

The Green CoastlineWe journey along the Basque coastline as we head towards San Sebastian and visit Santona – this is where the world’s finest anchovies come from. We will meet Emilia who produces the anchovies used at MoVida.

A day trip will take us to the village of Solares which is famous for its thermal spa experience. On the way we will drive through the magnificent Picos de Europa mountains. We will also spend a day with Frank preparing classic tapas – some special additions to add to our menus when we entertain back home.

Visit a Txoko – an unusual event A visit to a coastal fishing town to buy local fish directly from the fishermen is on the list plus a visit to a local Txoko which means Basque Men’s Cooking Club. This is a very special Basque experience where local chefs share culinary ideas and put them into practice. Txokos are generally closed to the general public however Frank has managed to organise a special entry for us and one of Frank’s friends will meet us there and help us to prepare a classic Basque lunch inside the Txoko. The development of Txokos has had a significant impact on Basque cuisine. Many traditional dishes have been rescued or resurrected by Txokos which would have otherwise died out. They have also influenced the development of new dishes as Txoko members frequently experiment with new dishes, ingredients and methods, or variations of existing dishes. They are also places where information on the best and cheapest ingredients available is exchanged. This in turn has led to Basque cuisine being both highly refined and affordable.

Enjoy this very special tour experience with usStrictly limited to 10 people.$10,900 p/personFor more information email Sue at accoutrement@bigpond.comor call us on 02 9969 4911